Amazon will soon expand its lineup of private-label goods to include perishable food items — offering nuts, spices, vitamins, tea, coffee, baby food and other products under new Amazon brands such as Happy Belly, Wickedly Prime and Mama Bear, according to a Wall Street Journal report, citing unnamed people familiar with the company’s plans.
The products will only be available for purchase by Amazon Prime members, the report says, creating a new benefit for people who subscribe to the company’s $99/year membership program. Amazon has tried a similar approach with its Amazon Elements private-label baby wipes, which are back on the market after being temporarily pulled last year for design improvements.
Amazon has offered its own private-label products for several years, such as AmazonBasics electronics items, Pinzon kitchen products and Strathwood outdoor furniture. The expected expansion into perishable goods was first reported by the WSJ a year ago. The latest report says the first of the new brands could debut by the end of May or early June.
Private-label brands generally earn retailers higher margins than name-brand products do, and Amazon has unique insights into the underlying economics of different product categories based on sales across its e-commerce platform.
The company isn’t commenting on the latest WSJ report.